20 Grilled Appetizer Recipes That Turn Any Gathering Into a Party

Let summer fruit such as watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe shine in this two-ingredient appetizer. The melon is cut into wedges, wrapped in cured Italian meat like prosciutto and salami, and then grilled for just a minute or two.

Start the party by making homemade garlic bread on the grill; ours features an aromatic parsley-herb butter. Kids and adults alike will devour it in a flash.

A combination of ground lamb and ground pork bring a one-two punch of gamey flavor and uber-tender meat in this meatball appetizer. The meatballs are threaded onto skewers, grilled, and served with an herbaceous salsa verde.

We're all about shucking and shooting raw oysters on the half shell during summer, but they're also delicious when grilled and served with a nutty butter sauce packed with fresh herbs.

Dress up unshelled English peas by threading them onto skewers and grilling until they're charred and crispy on the outside. Then, serve with a sprinkle of toasted coconut, a dash of cayenne, squeeze of lime, and pinch of flaky sea salt.

Choose your own adventure with this colorful grilled appetizer. We grilled an assortment of bell peppers and onions, but you can use any vegetables that you please; serve them alongside a simple escarole salad, herby white beans, crumbled feta cheese, and pita bread.

Celebrate the arrival of spring with these grilled globe artichokes, which are sliced and placed atop crunchy country bread and a green garlic and rosemary goat cheese spread.

These mini lamb kebabs have so much flavor thanks to a combination of ground cumin seeds, cinnamon, and parsley, which are mixed with the ground meat before they're grilled. Serve with wedges of pita bread on the side.

Smoky, charred bread with an assortment of grilled chiles and sweet peppers is perfectly complemented by the soft, creamy cheese. This is an appetizer sure to make mouths water.

An antipasto platter combining grilled and non-grilled elements is a winning way to start a party. The grilled eggplants and squashes get a sweet-and-sour marinade full of plump raisins and briny capers. They can even be prepped the day before if you like, which means all that's left to do is toast some crusty Italian bread and arrange them on the platter with cheeses and cured meats.

Use a hot grill to char halved plum tomatoes and thick slices of country bread to create this bruschetta. Combine the tomatoes with minced garlic, red-wine vinegar, red-pepper flakes, and fresh basil before mounding on the grilled bread.

This recipe has only one ingredient: clams. The shells are placed directly on the grates of the grill to steam open under the grill lid. Their natural juices are the only flavorings required. Place clams in a pot or bowl for serving, discarding any unopened ones.

Take tapas to the grill with these skewers of smoky chorizo and spicy peppers.

Everything in this dish is grilled, including the lemon slices, which you can treat as a garnish or nibble on with the shrimp. Grilling the shrimp in their shells helps them retain their flavor and keeps them from being overcooked.

Grilled summer tomatoes tossed with fresh oregano make the perfect platform for tantalizingly charred sausages.

A creamy, tangy sauce of peanut butter, mango chutney, lime juice, garlic, and soy sauce gives these chicken breast skewers irresistible appeal.

Links of Polish sausage are grilled to highlight their garlicky flavor. Sliced into small pieces, they contrast nicely with buttery Yukon gold potatoes with a light coating of grainy-mustard vinaigrette.

It only takes a few ingredients—thin slices of salty prosciutto, delicate scallops, olive oil, and lemon—to make these quick-cooking skewers that are an elegant starter to or an easy addition to any grilled menu.

The citrus marinade for these shrimp is spiked with tequila, which makes for a very flavorful grilled appetizer.